Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of current students at English universities pay international tuition fees; how this compares with the same figure from 2010; and what steps they are taking to ensure that English universities have a long-term, stable and sustainable funding model.

The total number of non-EU students at higher education (HE) providers in England in academic years 2021/22 and 2010/11 is published and can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis.

Please note, the data for these years is not comparable as home fee status for EU domiciled students has changed over this period. In 2010/11, all EU students had ‘home status’ meaning they paid the same tuition fees as UK domiciled students. In 2021/22, only existing EU domiciled students had home fee status while those starting their course in 2021/22 did not; they were charged international tuition fees as other non-EU students. In 2021/22, there were 24,365 new EU first year enrolments at HE providers in England.

As autonomous organisations, HE providers have a high degree of financial independence and it is for them to make appropriate and necessary decisions around income, funding, spending and borrowing which ensure their continued financial viability and sustainability.